Wren High School basketball coach Fran Campbell got to see a familiar face walking up and down the hallways this past week.

His 6-foot, 5-inch shooting guard Bryce McGowens was back after a brief time away from the Hurricanes.

McGowens announced over the summer that he was transferring to Lincoln Academy in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The academy ran into financial difficulties and closed, so McGowens re-enrolled at Wren and started classes Monday.

"It feels good, I’m sad about the school shutting down," McGowens said. "I had a good, solid month of hard work but to be able to come back with all my friends, family and be able to play for Wren again feels good."

The four-star prospect has multiple offers to play Division I basketball, including Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, LSU, Nebraska and Pittsburgh. His brother Trey is a sophomore at Pittsburgh.

For Campbell, he adds a player that he said doesn't have any glaring weaknesses.

"I don’t know if there’s anybody who would not be happy getting a four star player back," he said laughing. "We’re excited about him being back, it feels good to see him in the hall."

Although McGowens said he is disappointed that he won't play the nationally elite schedule he would have played at Lincoln, he is happy to be somewhere that he is comfortable.

McGowens father, Bobby, said the family looked at other private schools but decided Wren would be the right choice for McGowens' junior season.

It helps that he was welcomed back with open arms from his friends, teammates and the Wren community.

"Everyone was happy to see me back, and I didn’t know if they would welcome me back but it was good," he said.

This wasn't a surprise to Campbell, who said McGowens has an ability to get along with people wherever he is.

"He’s the type of kid that they would like him if he wasn’t a basketball player. He’s really popular with everyone in the school and he stayed in touch with them, it’s not like he went to Alaska or something," Campbell said. "What you want him to feel like is he’s supported no matter what he does. He’s still the same Bryce and we love him just like we did before, it didn’t stop when he left."

McGowens had been to three weeks of classes already in North Carolina, but said making the academic transition won't be difficult.

Last season Wren made it to the Class AAAA Upper State Championship game where it lost to eventual state champion Ridge View.

Now that he's back in South Carolina, he said the goal is simple: finish business and get the Hurricanes to Columbia for the state championship game.